Obama’s Slave Ship

When I was young and living in Manhattan, I saw an Off-Off-Broadway play called Slave Ship. It was an experience I’ll never forget.

Unbeknownst to me, the performance was conducted in total darkness. The audience was subjected for one very long hour to the harrowing sounds of slavery. There were blood-curdling screams, whippings, and more.

Advertisement - story continues below

Given that we were trapped in pitch blackness, the audience was held captive like the slaves, compelled to experience the same terror, helplessness, and despair. This was undoubtedly the intention of the play.

Memories of that ghastly night at the theater sauntered back into my mind’s eye upon hearing some of Obama’s recent utterances. To an audience of blacks, he invokes the language of slavery, fashioning himself an abolitionist freeing them from bondage.

Using racially charged language, Obama relegates Republicans to the back of the bus. In a speech to Latinos, he directs the audience to align with him against the “enemy.” But Obama doesn’t mean the Mexican Cartel, who are holding sections of Mexico and the United States hostage. He’s referring to conservatives.